A New World
by Figment of Imagery
Summary: Two best friends get transported to the world of ATLA, and join some of the characters.
1. The Entry

The sound effects from the TV in the living room woke Maria early Saturday morning. She grumbled and turned over under her sheets, and covered her head in the blue satin encased pillow. She tossed and turned when the noise continued to stay at its loud volume. Finally Maria just sat up and yelled "TURN THAT DAMN THING OFF!"

Her mother poked her head through the doorway and raised her eyebrows at Maria.

"Since when did you start cussing, young lady?" It was said in more of a scolding manner, instead of a question. Her head disappeared back into the hallway. Maria groaned and flopped backwards back onto her pillow. Since there was no possible way of getting back to sleep, she might as well get up. Maria tossed her legs over the side of the bed and grudgingly stood up to go look in the mirror. Her coffee-with-heavy-cream colored hair stood up at all angles, like a porcupine with bad hair day. Maria sighed and dragged her hand down her face, wondering how in the world she ever manages to fix this mess every morning.

After about ten minutes of brushing, grunting, and cursing, Maria finally managed to get her hair back to normal-her strait hair going a bit past her shoulders, her bangs pinned up to the side, her eyes popping with black eye makeup, put on lightly of course.

The suns rays pouring through the open window reflected off her hair, adding a somewhat glint of toffee color. Maria blinked her eyes a few times to help herself wake up, and walked over to her closet, criticizing everything in her mind.

A pink cashmere blouse? _Eew no. I hardly ever wear pink._

Orange tank top? _It's not THAT hot outside._

Finally she settled on a black, skin tight t-shirt, with a blue and black tie-die tank-top over it. Maria pulled these on, along with her jeans, being careful of her hair, and stomped out to breakfast. She kissed her father good morning, delivered her mother's daily cup of coffee, grabbed a few pancakes sitting on the counter, and went into the living room to yell at whatever sucker woke her up. Her younger brother was sitting on the couch, gazing intently at the TV show playing, Avatar: the Last Airbender.

"Alright Danny you have ten seconds to explain why you had to turn the vol-"

Her sentence was cut short when someone pulled her into a loving kiss. She stepped back in surprise.

"Michael! What are you doing here?"

The handsome blonde haired boy smiled at Maria.

"I just wanted to see you this morning before I go off to the field." Maria grinned back and hugged Michael.

"Aww! Good luck on your game!"

Michael kissed her one more time before walking out the door with a wave. Someone moved in the corner.

"You sure seem to be getting all fancy with the rich boy."

Maria put her hands on her hips.

"Don't tell me your jealous, Marcus."

Marcus laughed and put his hands up in a surrendering manner.

"Don't get me wrong, short stuff. I'm glad you finally found someone, but that guy puts me on edge."

Maria rolled her eyes and playfully punched Marcus on the shoulder, and plopped down on the couch.

"Sure, whatever you say." Maria watched the TV show intently for a few minutes. "You know, Zuko's kind of cute." Marcus rolled his eyes.

"You would say that."

Maria stuck her tongue out. Her little brother Danny was still captivated. Marcus sat on the arm rest of the couch and pulled something out of his jacket pocket and held it out to Maria.

"Wishbone. Make a wish," he grinned coyly at her and she rolled her eyes but took a hold of it anyway. Nothing important occurred to Maria to wish for, so she let her eyes wander around the room to look for something. Her gaze rested on the TV, and she shrugged. Maria made her wish, and they both pulled the wishbone apart.

"Lucky duck," Marcus teased, sticking his tongue out at her. Maria rolled her eyes at him again.

"It's not like its going to come true."

Marcus shrugged.

"You never know. Hey, I found something last time I went to the woods. You might be interested in it."

Maria raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

Marcus grinned slyly.

"You got to come find out." He smirked. Maria sighed and gave him a blank look before grabbing a spring jacket, putting on her boots and running out the door with him. Maria always felt solace at the woods, it was a place for her to just 'chill'. She had shown Marcus the place, him being her best friend and all, and they had dubbed the place as their own secret forest, and thought up nicknames for themselves; after much grumbling on Maria's part because she didn't want to act like she's five again.

Marcus grinned the entire way there, though Maria didn't say a word. After they had bushwhacked their way through the underbrush to the main area, Marcus dragged her to the large rock that served as a seat in Maria's part of the forest. Marcus stuck his hands in his pockets and rocked back and forth on his heels with a satisfied smile on his face. Maria looked back and forth from him to the rock, and back again.

"You dragged me all the way down here to look at a _rock_?" she asked, an edge to her tone. Marcus laughed.

"Course not captain bubbles. I dragged you all the way down here to look at what's _under _the rock." Maria glared at him.

"Don't call me that."

"Why not?"

"Cause you made up a stupid rule that whenever one of us calls the other by their nickname, that just, _becomes_ our name for the moment and I fell really stupid calling you lieutenant green tortillas."

Marcus rolled his eyes. He crouched down to pick up the rock, but before he could touch it a figure dressed in black dropped down from the tree above them and landed on the it, causing Marcus to keel over in fright with a small scream and a thump as he landed on his behind. After a few moments of silence Maria and the black figure burst out laughing, and were still quite involved in the activity when Marcus brushed himself off and exclaimed:

"Oh come _on _guys it wasn't _that _funny." He glared at the two hysterical figures in front of him. The person in black wiped a tear from her eye and turned to Marcus.

"Yeah, it actually was Marcus. God! You should have seen your face!" with that she threw back her head and laughed even more.

Finally Maria stood up and wheezed for a second, before turning to the person in black.

"It's good to see you again, Jasmine," she said, smiling. Jasmine pulled her ninja hood off and smiled back, her black wavy hair spilling around her shoulders. "It's good to see you guys again too. It's been way too long." Maria nodded, stifling a giggle when Marcus continued pouting, his arms crossed over his chest. Everything was silent for a moment, then Marcus turned around with a huff and stalked off back the way he came. Jasmine watched him until he was out of sight and shook her head muttering "Gay emo's," then turned to Maria.

"What were you guys doing with a rock, anyway?"

Maria shrugged.

"He said there was something under it."

"Oh. Let's look." Jasmine grinned her sly smile and stooped to pick the rock, and Maria dug her fingers under it, ready to pick it up. Jasmine nodded at her and with much grunting, were able to hoist the rock up and flip it over onto its other side. Both girls gaped.

Where there should have been dead grass, tons of dirt and various bugs, there was a large iron hole that faded into a black abyss at the bottom. Jasmine laughed, saying how awesome that was. Maria crouched down and dropped a rock into the hole, and started counting. She had reached nineteen before the girls heard a faint _thunk _and the sound of it rolling away. Jasmine reached for a rusty ladder bolted to the sides of the pit and shook it, but the old ladder came off the wall and fell into the darkness below. Jasmine gritted her teeth.

"Well were not going to get in that way. I'll go get some rope."

Maria backed away from the opening.

"Wait. I don't think we should go down there. There might be a thing."

Jasmine raised an eyebrow.

"A thing? You mean like a dick?" she grinned at Maria's horrified expression.

"No! I meant an animal…or…or something."

Jasmine rolled her eyes.

"Quit worrying sugar queen, I doubt there's anything down there. I just want to look."

Jasmine raised her eyebrows expectantly at Maria, who grumbled before muttering "Fine" and folding her arms over her chest. Jasmine grinned victoriously, and ran off to find some rope. She was only gone a few minutes and came back to tie one end of the rope securely around a nearby tree, and tossing the other end down the hole. Maria bit her lip.

"You go first."

Jasmine didn't have to be told twice. She grabbed hold of the rope and slid down a good amount, then called up to Maria, who did the same, though with far more hesitancy. They were halfway down the rope when Maria heard footsteps above them. She couldn't see above the pit, but the next thing she new was that she and Jasmine were hurtling towards the bottom of the pit at full speed.


	2. The World

Maria sat up in a cobble street, the rain pouring down and night starting to kick in. She looked around her, calling Jasmine's name over and over again, but she was no where to be found. Maria started panicking, and she felt her throat start to tense up and her stomach go queasy. She had hit her head in the fall, and now there was a small throbbing bump on her head. Maria felt a storm of tears wanting to burst out of her eyes, and she let them, wondering how in the world she ever let Jasmine talk her into going down that bloody pit.

Maria ran down the deserted street, looking around her. The place looked old fashioned, and it looked like some place in China. Glowing yellow lights were in some of the house windows, but other than that and a few birds there was no life anywhere. Maria kept running, not knowing where she was going and not really caring. Finally she curled up in an alley by a tea shop, and cried herself to sleep.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Jasmine perked her head up from where she was lying on her stomach. She spat leaves out of her mouth and looked around her. She was the middle of a forest, and there wasn't a soul to be seen. She frowned and stood up, calling for Maria.

Silence.

Jasmine groaned and kicked a rotting stump, sending it tumbling over down a small incline towards a river. She walked along for a moment, calling Maria's name every once in a while, but always answered with nothing but a few chirps from the birds. It was getting dark, and it had started to drizzle a little bit. Jasmine stuck her hands in her pockets and scuffed her feet as she walked, cursing herself for dragging Maria down to this place; whatever this place was. One moment she was walking along, the next moment she was dangling ten feet in the air in some circular metal cage with a pile of red berries in her lap. Jasmine kicked at the side of the cage, but due to lack of space she ended up kneeing herself in the mouth. Grumbling, Jasmine cradled her chin in her hand and popped one of the red things in her mouth, just to try. It wasn't that bad.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Maria woke up to see the face of an old man looking down at her. She screamed and flung herself backwards. The old man cautiously approached her.

"It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you."

He laid a hand on Maria's shivering shoulder.

"You look cold and hungry. Come with me." He turned and led a very hesitant Maria into the tea shop, and motioned for her to sit at one of the tables. The old man set a plate of cookies and a cup of tea in front of Maria, then sat across from her and went on to tell her that his name was Mushi, but she could call him Uncle, he and his nephew (who was out and about at the moment) owned this tea shop, which was called the Jasmine Dragon, and had recently came here as refugee's from the Fire Nation.

Maria almost spat her tea out over the table. The Fire Nation…Mushi's voice…it was all really eerily familiar. She tried to swallow the lump in her throat, but she was constantly nagged that she knew this place from somewhere.

Mushi had obviously seen the distress in her face for he led Maria upstairs and let her sleep on a cot, saying she was tired and needed her rest. Maria did not argue. She just let the old man tuck her in and soon fell asleep after his footsteps had died away down the stairs.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Jasmine woke up to the sun pouring through the cracks in the cage. She yawned and stretched, ignoring the fact that she was starving and really had to go to the bathroom, and searched around the cage for a way to get out. She had been unsuccessful at finding anything after at least a half an hour, and froze as still as one can in a cage swinging high above the ground when the sound of footsteps reached her ears. Jasmine listened carefully. It didn't sound shuffling like an animals, it kind of resembled her dad's footsteps when he gets home from work. It also sounded like it was more than one thing, or person. Jasmine peeked through the bars of the cage. Down below on the ground there were four people. One was a tall kid, about 15, with light brown hair and some sort of weird armor on, as well as a piece of grass sticking out of his mouth. Another was a thick, muscular, buff dude that looked considerably taller than the first, and to Jasmine he resembled an elephant. As for the other two, one was tall, thin and lanky wearing a strange straw triangle shaped hat and a bow strapped to his back, the other was a short kid, presumably 12, with mushroom-top cut hair and two red lines below either eye.

Jasmine raised an eyebrow from her spot. Peculiar little bunch there.

The thick, buff guy pointed up at the cage Jasmine was in, and suddenly there was a jerk and she felt herself being lowered to the ground. She pounded on the sides of the round cage and fell on her face when it hit the ground with a _thump_. The top of the cage opened and Jasmine was pulled out by her hair, and the mushroom-top kid bound her hands behind her back while the gruff guy held her still. Jasmine struggled and grunted and glared at them all. The first kid with the brown hair and the grass in his mouth stepped forward to her, returning the glare with an equally sinister look. He leaned in closer to Jasmine's face.

"Who are you? Some kind of Fire Nation spy?" he spat. Jasmine raised her eyebrows at him.

"What in the world are you talking about? I was just walking and the next thing I knew I was in that stupid trap of yours!" she spat right back. The boy snarled.

"Yeah right. Like I'm supposed to believe that." he signaled to the other guys, apparently his minions, and they gagged her. Jasmine stomped on the gruff guy's foot, swung her tied fists and smacked the mushroom kid in the jaw and was going to swing a kick at the lanky person with the triangle hat when a hook shot out and grabbed her foot, twisting her leg under her and sending her back into the gruff guy's clutches. The brown haired boy smirked and put his hooks away. "Make sure you keep a hold on her, Pipsqueak." Jasmine's eyebrows shot up. "Pipsqueak?" she turned to the big guy holding her arms. "Your name is _Pipsqueak_?"

He snarled and said in a very deep voice, "Yeah. Got a problem?"

Jasmine laughed.

"You just seem more of an elephant guy."

She threw back her head and laughed.

"You guys are a sad little group. You have my pity. Now let me go."

Jasmine tugged at her bonds, oblivious to the sinister looks the brown haired boy was giving her.

"Not so fast, hot shot." He tossed a leather sack over Jasmine's head, and she could feel herself being hoisted onto a shoulder; probably Pipsqueak's. She snickered.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Maria stretched and sat up on the cot. The sunshine poured in through the window on the nearest wall, and for a second she had a mini-heart attack. After a while she regained her 'cool', and swung her legs over the side of the bed. The room was a good size, but not big. There was a light green carpet on the floor, and the room was decorated with earth tone furniture. Maria went over to the window, stuck her head out and calculated whether or not she could climb out onto the roof. She did it a lot at home, and wasn't very scared of climbing roofs as much as she was going down mysterious pits. Maria bit her lip and swung her leg out the window, then her arm and her head, then her other leg, then just sat on the ledge. She carefully turned around and dug her fingers and toes into the roof paneling, tiling moreover, and hoisted herself up. Her head was just peeking over the top, when she saw someone standing on the roof. The boy had short black hair, his back was turned to her, and it looked like he was holding something. Maria raised an eyebrow and pulled herself completely onto the ledge.

"Who are you?" she called. The boy turned around and Maria realized with fascination that he had a huge burn scar on his left eye, reaching all the way back to his ear. He looked surprised to see her for a second, then frowned and asked the same thing. Maria stuck her tongue out.

"I asked you first. Are you Mushi's nephew?"

The boy looked flustered for a second, but affirmed the question.

"I'm…Lee. You have yet to tell me your name."

Maria was entirely fascinated by this boy. First by his abnormal scar, then the way he talked. His voice was sort of raspy, but clear, and Maria thought it was definitely sexy. Maria blushed at this thought and tried to push it away.

"I'm Maria."

"That's an…unusual name."

"Your name's kind of unusual."

"It's very common…" Lee raised an eyebrow.

Maria had a strange feeling that she'd seen his from somewhere, he looked really familiar. Like, almost scary, familiar.

"Oh. I'm not that familiar with this place," she said, rubbing the back of her head.

Lee paused for a minute, and Maria could see what he had been holding. It was a lost poster with the picture of a large animal on it.

A large, _shaggy _animal with an arrow on its head. Maria's eyes widened and she had to brace her self so she wouldn't fall over. She knew where she was now.

This was a cartoon.

Avatar: The Last Airbender.


	3. The People

**A/N *eesh! I'm so sorry this took so long...I've been swamped xP anyway, I'm halfway done with the next chapter =D (I think) so that should be up soon. For now, enjoy this chapter =D**

* * *

><p>Jasmine tugged with her teeth at the bonds around her wrists. She had been thrown into a small room with no windows, the walls, ceiling and floor made out of wood. It had been over an hour from her encounter with Pipsqueak and the tall blonde kid. Jasmine narrowed her eyes. Once she found away to get out of this wretched room she'll give that kid a good ol' ass kicking.<p>

Jasmine flung herself across the room at the bolted door on the wall and battered the door with her fists. Deep laughter could be heard from the other side.

"You're not going to get out of there anytime soon, fire nation scum."

Jasmine gritted her teeth.

"For the last freaking time! I am NOT from the fire nation!"

The deep chuckle sounded again but the person said nothing. Jasmine groaned in frustration and gave the door one last defiant bang before slinking back into the corner.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Maria delivered a tray of tea to a waiting table, smiled sweetly to the customers and returned to the back of the tea shop. Mushi had given her a job as a barista at the Jasmine Dragon, though much to the grumbling of his scarred nephew. Lee had been giving her strange looks the past days, and Maria caught him staring at her twice. He would always blush and turn back to whatever it was he was doing. By now Maria had figured out most of the predicament she was in, though she was still confused as to how she got into Avatar: The Last Airbender anyway.

Mushi's nephew, 'Lee', was actually Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation, trying to capture the Avatar but is undercover now in Ba Sing Se. Mushi was really the retired General Iroh traveling with his nephew, Prince Zuko.

But she still hadn't found Jasmine yet…

Maria let out a breathe and ran her fingers through her toffee hair. The whole ordeal was greatly astonishing at first, but Maria had grasped the idea and accepted it after a while. She had a plan to confront Lee later today and break the ice to him; Maria was definitely looking forward to his response, despite her nervousness.

Maria set another tray down in the sink and looked around her. The customers seemed satisfied for the moment, so she slunk into the back where Lee was washing a tea pot. Iroh wasn't around. Maria leaned against the doorway and folded her arms over her chest, waiting for Lee to comprehend her presence.

"What are you doing?" he asked softly after a few minutes.

"Oh, just watching you clean."

Lee snorted. "Couldn't find anything better to do?"

Maria said nothing for a few moments.

"I know who you are."

Lee abruptly stopped scrubbing the pot, but resumed after a while, though at a much slower pace.

"Of course you do. You've lived with us long enough."

Maria scoffed.

"Well who knew I'd ever live with Prince Zuko, son of Firelord Ozai and Ursa, and heir to the throne!" Maria waved her arms about in dramatic movements. The next thing she knew Zuko had pinned her against the wall.

"How did you find out?" he hissed, glaring at her. Maria shivered against the feel of his fist against her chest; even if it was through her shirt. Her eyes raced over his pale face, his gorgeous golden eyes, his scar…

"Well, at first it was just a theory, but you kind of confirmed it just now…"

Zuko's eyebrows shot up and then he released his grip on her and threw his hands in the air.

"Why am I so _stupid_?"

Maria laid a hand on his arm. "You're not stupid. You're one of the smartest people I know. Besides, I've kept so many secrets my entire life, what difference is it going to make to keep one more?" Zuko turned to her and his eyes searched her face, a yearning yet hopeful expression.

"Alright." He whispered.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

The wooden door banging open to her enclosure jerked Jasmine out of sleep. The boy with the grass in his mouth was standing there, his eyebrows furrowed as always. Jasmine wrinkled her nose at him, though not because of an odor.

"What do you want, twig boy?" she spat. The boy stepped in and slammed the door behind him. With two long strides he crossed the room and knelt in front of Jasmine, glaring at her—their faces _thisclose_.

"I want you to tell me everything you know about the closest Fire Nation raids."

Damn this boy infuriated her. She had nothing to do with the infamous Fire Nation. She didn't even know who this kid was!

Jasmine sighed.

"I swear to you twig boy, I have _nothing _to do with the Fire Nation."

She looked him square in the eye, put on her puppy dog face, and begged him silently to believe her.

"Not going to buy it, big eyes." The boy smirked. Jasmine groaned and kicked her foot out.

"This is getting really exasperating! It's not like you have any proof that I'm from the dang Fire Nation! I just want to go home! I don't even know where the fuck I am, let alone the Fire Nation!"

She looked pleadingly at the boy, the sincerest look she could muster on her face. The boy stood up.

"I guess your right. I'll let you go-out of this room. But you'll stay my prisoner." He looked her in the eyes. "Any slip ups, and your dead meat."

Jasmine grumbled.

"Fine. Could you please tell me who you are? Or would you rather me keep calling you 'Twig Boy'?"

Twig boy scowled and he called in a short little kid, about seven, and told him to untie her.

"This is The Duke. Don't underestimate him by his age."

When 'The Duke' had finished untying Jasmine, she stood up and strutted out the door and onto the deck, where she stopped abruptly and staggered in her place to keep from plummeting over the side of a short railing, down to certain demise. Jasmine took a few unsteady steps backward, and smacked into Twig Boy, who gave her an amused grin. Jasmine glared at him despite her pinking cheeks. She pushed herself off of him, gave him one last spiteful glare, and looked around her.

She was standing on a circular balcony surrounding the small hut that was her confinement. Rope bridges swung out from either side, and led to another hut, just like the one Jasmine was standing by, which led up around a tree to some more houses, which branched off to other buildings. Jasmine looked down. She could faintly see the gnarled roots of the great tree she was standing in on the ground. This entire structure was an enormous tree house.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

"Whew. That last rush of customers really wore me out," Maria stated as she placed one last tea tray in the sink.

"Tell me about it," Zuko replied, switching the 'open' sign to 'closed'. Iroh took his apron off and stretched.

"I don't know about you, but my aching bones are tired. How about you two go for a walk and get some sunshine while I go take a nap?" Maria hung up her apron.

"That doesn't sound half bad. You want to come, Zuko?"

"I guess I have some time." Zuko hung up his apron next to Maria's. "Bye Uncle."

The two teens left the Jasmine Dragon and walked in silence. When they reached a bridge that crossed over a small river, Maria jumped up onto the barrier and walked along it, her arms out for balance.

"What are you doing?" Zuko asked, his eyebrow raised. Maria rolled her eyes.

"Walking. Same thing I was doing five minutes ago." She quickly did a cartwheel and jumped off the barrier when they reached the end.

"You kind of remind me of someone back home," Zuko said. Maria raised an eyebrow.

"Really? Was she your girlfriend?" Zuko looked away.

"No. She was a friend of my sister—and of my old girlfriend. Her name was Ty Lee."

Maria was silent for a few seconds.

"Oh. That's…nice." She grinned mischievously and ran ahead, making rocket noises with her arms out—like a three year old pretending to be an airplane.

She kicked her shoes off and ran barefoot along the sandy beach of the nearby lake. Zuko face palmed.

"Do you always do this kind of stuff?" he asked, slightly amused. Maria stopped her ship noises to giggle and nod, and then continue. She ran towards Zuko and tackled him into the sand, making crash noises. Zuko looked slightly flustered for a few minutes, but then sat up and raised an eyebrow at Maria, who collapsed in a heap of laughter.

"Oh! You should have seen your face!" Maria wheezed between laughs. "You looked as in the world was falling on top of you!"

"In a way, it was," Zuko grumbled to himself, rubbing his elbow where he landed. Soon Maria ceased laughing and she lay in the sand, looking at the sky and sneaking glances at Zuko every one in a while. His hair had started to grow longer, and the hair in front fell lightly at the center of his forehead. _Damn _he was handsome.

"Why are you looking for the Avatar?" she asked. Zuko turned around, his eyebrow raised.

"For as long as you've stayed with us, I don't think I ever told you I was after the Avatar."

Maria bit her lip.

"Well, I saw you holding a picture of the Avatar's bison, and I heard about the crazy prince trying to capture the Avatar, so I put two and two together."

It seemed like a plausible answer, since she had fallen through a pit with only the information of what the TV-show had given her.

"You think I'm crazy?" Zuko's eyebrow was raised, and his face unreadable.

"No! I just meant that," she paused, searching for the right thing to say. "Some people think you're absolutely absurd."

"Oh."

Maria rubbed her forehead.

"Never mind. I know why. You spoke out of place in a meeting, and you're father challenged you to an agni-kai, and scarred you," Zuko reached up to his eye and rubbed the burnt flesh. "And banished you to capture the Avatar and you can't return until you have him, to 'regain your honor'" Maria made quotation marks in the air with her fingers. "And that's why you're in Ba Sing Se in the first place."

Maria looked over at Zuko, whose mouth was hanging open and staring at her with disbelief.

"How did you know all that?" he whispered.

Maria gulped.

"Um…just a lucky guess?"

Zuko snapped his mouth shut, but still stared at her for a long time before turning away.

Maria dug her toes into the sand and looked out at the water, before sitting up and pulling her short, home-made, sky blue dress off, leaving her clothed only in her mini shorts, (despite her medium girly-ness, she still didn't like the feel of her thighs rubbing together under dresses or skirts), and bandages concealing only her breasts. Zuko turned to see what she was doing, and immediately his cheeks turned a bright red.

"What are you doing?" he exclaimed. Maria smiled and rolled her eyes.

"Going swimming, genius." She ran onto a nearby dock and dove into the crystal blue water, her head reappearing farther out. She disappeared again, and reappeared closer to the shore, and Zuko, who was sitting one the edge of the dock

"Come on," Maria pleaded, tugging at his hand. "It's not that cold."

Zuko touched the water with one finger and shivered.

"It's too cold for me."

Maria laughed.

"That's 'cause you're a fire bender. It's actually really warm." She looked pleadingly into his golden eyes.

"Swimming isn't really my thing."

"Well neither is making tea, but you do that anyway."

Zuko hesitated.

"Fine."

He stood up and took his shirt off and jumped in, sending a splash of water droplets towards Maria, who giggled. She swam over to him when he surfaced, and swept her arm across the surface of the water, sending a small wave into Zuko's face. Zuko staggered back and went under and pulled Maria with him. They resurfaced together, Maria laughing, and a small smile on Zuko's face. Maria had never seen him smile before.

When he smiled, his one eyebrow went up a little, giving him a sweet look, his eyes twinkled, and he had very tiny dimples.

Maria melted a little bit and slid her arms around his neck. Zuko gave her a questioning look, and Maria only smiled.

"You should smile more often, you look awfully cute."

Zuko blushed a deep pink and looked away. They were silent for a while, just standing in the water, Maria's arms around Zuko's neck, and his hands on her waist. Their head's were so close; Maria could feel Zuko's warm, pepper-minty breathe on her neck. Their noses and foreheads touched, and they both moved slightly in simultaneously. Their eyes fluttered closed, and their lips touched in a sweet, soft, tender kiss.

When they pulled apart, Zuko blushed again, and even Maria's cheeks were flushed. She looked away, too embarrassed to meet Zuko's gaze, and she quickly withdrew her arms from his neck.

"I'm…sorry…" she said, looking down into the water.

"Why?" Zuko asked, his usually coarse voice soft.

"Well, you're a _prince _and I'm…not really anything," Maria answered, gazing out past Zuko. "That's not supposed to happen." She pulled away from him, no longer up against his muscular chest. Zuko tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and pulled himself out of the water and onto the dock, and then helped Maria up next to him.

"We should probably be getting back," he said, pulling his shirt on, the softness gone from his voice. Maria nodded, pulling her blue dress over her head and tying the sash around her waist. She didn't put her shoes on however, and instead walked barefoot next to Zuko, neither of them saying anything. Before long they arrived at the bridge that Maria had walked along on the barriers. Zuko noticed something white out of the corner of his eye and turned to see what it was.

A Lily.

He bent to pick one, and he held it out to Maria, who felt her cheeks warming as she took it and twirled it in her fingers.

"Thanks," she said, only slightly audible. When they turned to continue walking, she grasped his hand, and Zuko pulled her closer to him so that their arms were touching. They arrived at their apartment just as Iroh was getting up. He saw their hands clasped together and grinned, a knowing expression on his face.

"Did something else happen during you're walk?" Maria's cheeks tinged a little and Zuko made a coughing sound in his throat.

"Maybe," was all he said, and he gave Maria's hand a slight squeeze before letting go and going upstairs. Iroh raised his eyebrows at Maria, who just smiled and twirled the flower in her hand.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

"You built this?" Jasmine asked, turning to twig boy, who nodded, a smirk on his face. Jasmine stuck her tongue out at him and turned when she noticed three people approaching them. Twig boy grinned.

"As for your introductions, I'm Jet, and these are my freedom fighters. Pipsqueak," he paused, pointing to the elephant man that had carried her in the sack. "Whom you've met already. Longshot," he pointed to the tall lanky guy with the triangle hat and the bow. "He's a mute, so don't try to get any information out of him. Smellerbee," he pointed to the mushroom top boy that Jasmine had seen earlier. "She's a girl."

Whoops.

The mushroom top _girl_.

"And you've already met The Duke," Jet finished, turning back to Jasmine. "Now you know us, but we don't know you."

Jasmine crossed her arms.

"I'm Jasmine."

Jet nodded.

"Well nice to meet you, _Jasmine_. Where are you from?" he cocked an eyebrow at her.

Jasmine sighed.

"A long ways away, that's for sure. Mind telling me where we are?"

Jet waved the others away and started for a rope bridge, motioning Jasmine to follow him.

"The heart of the Minstrel Forest. The Fire Nation haven't found us yet, and with our expertise, they probably never will." He chewed on the end of the grass stuck in his mouth. Jasmine squinted at him.

"Do you mind telling be about this…Fire Nation?"

Jet turned his head to her with an odd look.

"You don't know about the Fire Nation?"

Jasmine blushed.

"Well, I'm not technically from around here, so I don't know about most of the happenings."

Jet sighed.

"There are four nations: Water Tribes, Fire Nation, Earth Kingdoms, and Air Nomads. Some of the people in the Water Tribes can bend the energy and atom structure in water, to control it to their will. Same with the other Nations. Fire Nation bends fire, Earth kingdoms bend rock, and Air Nomads bend air. Only the Avatar can bend all four elements, and there is only one in existence at a time. The current one actually came by here recently with a Water Tribe girl and her non-bending brother."

Jasmine nodded, taking it all in.

"Oh, I see. What's so bad about the Fire Nation?"

Jet frowned.

"The Fire Lord is a corrupt, crooked man who needs to go down. He's trying to expand the Fire Nation and take over the others. He caused the war and has taken millions of lives and abusing his power. He even scarred his own son and banished him to capture the Avatar before he could return home."

Jasmine listened intently, wide eyed, but not from what Jet was saying. This was exactly like a show that played on TV…Avatar: The last Airbender.

"Wait so your, how old, and living in a gigantic tree house, by yourself, wanted by the Fire Nation, and nobody to take care of you?"

Jet stopped walking, keeping his gaze strait ahead.

"I'm seventeen." He turned his head away. "And the Fire Nation killed my parents."

Jasmine felt her heart melt a little when he said this. She laid a gentle hand on his arm.

"Oh…I'm sorry. I'm sixteen. I lost my mother when I was little. She was a…" Jasmine was going to say flight attendant, but planes hadn't been invented in this world yet so she racked her brain to think of something else. "Traveling agent. There was a fire and…" she stopped, feeling tears spring up in the corners of her eyes. Jet turned to her, his eyes gentle and that vicious spark dulled.

"I'm sorry."


End file.
